Drilling company sets community meeting to discuss Estates project

Sunniland Oil Field was originally owned by Barron Collier and then leased to Humble Oil. The mineral rights are held in perpetuity to the Collier Family, who donated the land to Florida Rock.

Collier County Commissioner Tim Nance on NewsMakers 04-07-13.

Oil workers dismantle one of the older oil wells at the Big Cypress National Preserve, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 30, 2001. Florida ranks 18th among the states in U.S. crude oil production with an estimated 13,000 barrels a day drawn from Big Cypress and the Jay fields in the northwest Panhandle. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Golden Gate Estates residents are uniting to dig deeper into the details about oil and gas drilling plans in their Collier County neighborhood.

About 50 residents first became concerned when alerted to the need for evacuation plans through letters received in April from Total Safety Inc., a Mobile, Ala., company that handles safety and contingency plans for the drilling company.

The letters sought household information that Total Safety Inc. would use to create emergency evacuation plans on behalf of Dan A. Hughes Co., a Texas-based oil and gas exploration company, in case of an explosion or other disaster at a proposed gas and oil well drilling site.

Barron Collier Co. owns the site for the wells on 24th Avenue Southeast near Desoto Boulevard. The Hughes company is seeking Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permits to explore the site.

"I've lived here most of my adult life and in my professional experience, we haven't had any problems with oil exploration near us, but I want to hear it from the horse's mouth," Collier County Commissioner Tim Nance said.

A public meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 30, with representatives from Barron Collier Co., Collier Enterprises, Dan A. Hughes Co., DEP, Collier County staff and fire officials to share and gather information about the project.

The wells are near the western border of the Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge, about five miles north of Interstate 75 and 15 miles east of Collier Boulevard in the rural estates.

The Golden Gate Estates Area Civic Association is also hosting a public meeting June 19 to further discuss the project.

Despite the scheduled meetings, which come after Nance held an informal meeting May 9 with residents who live near the proposed drilling site, several residents said they believe it's too little, too late.

"There has not been any communication from Dan A. Hughes regarding these wells, nor has anyone addressed our concerns," said Jaime Duran, a Golden Gate Estates resident.

Representatives from the drilling company couldn't be reached for comment.

Several residents have written to DEP asking that the public comment period be extended for the two initial DEP permits requested by Dan A. Hughes Co.

DEP received an application for a service well to be used for any disposal of brine produced along with oil and gas from the exploratory well, DEP spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller said. About a week later, an application for the oil and gas exploratory well drilling permit was requested, she said.

Several concerned residents and representatives from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida thought the public comment period for considering both permits was ending soon. However, that isn't the case, Miller wrote in an email to the Daily News.

The public is encouraged to continue sharing comments and concerns about the project as well as participate in the informational meetings, Miller said.

The company submitted a waiver to the 30-day application review process, thereby allowing this preliminary review to be extended until as late as July 1, Miller said.

"All comments from the general public received prior to the department (DEP) taking final agency action on the application will be considered," Miller wrote.

Once DEP approves or denies the application, any person with substantial interests affected by that decision may petition DEP within 21 days of the approval or denial, she said.

"We encourage residents to become informed. The Dan A. Hughes Co. has indicated its plans to meet with residents, and we encourage residents to take advantage of this opportunity," Miller said.

The proposed exploratory well will be completed in the lower Sunniland Formation, which is a limestone formation that has produced oil in Collier County since 1943, according to a statement sent by the Hughes Co. to residents in late April.

The site will be tested for oil and gas resources. For this to become a production well, the company would have to go through an additional permitting process, Miller said.

Based on pre-application discussions between DEP and the company, fracking hasn't been contemplated as part of this project, Miller said.

Fracking is hydraulic fracturing, a process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at high pressure to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside. It takes millions of gallons of water, nearly 600 chemicals and toxins, as well as dozens of trucks to complete a fracturing job.

Due to the level of public and environmental concerns with the project, the Conservancy is working with several groups and residents to submit comments for DEP to consider before approving any permits, said Jennifer Hecker, the Conservancy's director of natural resource policy.

The Conservancy owns conservation land in the immediate vicinity of the proposed project.